------Program code: DO-081230-06095 (what's this?)
Source: CCTV.com
12-30-2008 14:47
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In the film Titanic, there’s a scene in which a diamond, called “Heart of the Ocean”, slips from the hand of the heroine, Rose, into the sea. Its loss symbolizes the eternal love that sank with the ship. In a sense the scene conveys another message; that the true value of jewelry lies not in how much money it is worth, but in the human emotions it embodies.
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Westerners choose to have precious stones carved into delicate pieces of jewelry; Chinese people, on the other hand, have a fondness for natural rock. It’s common to see large rocks placed in recesses in yards, while small rocks can be held in the hand and admired. Rocks with a particularly unusual shape can be many times more valuable than jewelry.
Probably the best loved of all curiously-shaped rocks in China are the Lingbi rocks. They go by various nicknames, such as the “First Rocks under Heaven” and chime rocks.
The euphonious sound of the chimes announces our entry into the wonderful world of unusually-shaped rocks.
Lingbi rocks come from a small area of plains, north of Qingshi Mountain in the town of Yugou, in Lingbi County, Anhui Province. The name “Lingbi” is said to mean “divine mountain abundant in jade”. This association with jade shows just how highly people prize Lingbi rocks.
Lingbi rocks are grouped into a category called Chinese scholar rocks, which also includes Taihu rocks, Kun rocks and Ying stones. In the earliest known written appreciation of rocks, the Yunlin Shipu, or Stone Compendium of the Cloudy Forest, Lingbi rocks are listed at number one, followed by such illustrious rocks as agate, crystal, pyrophyllite, and Taihu rocks.
This remarkable type of rock can even play music. When it is tapped, a Lingbi rock produces a crisp, metallic sound. Hence the name, chime rock.
A story is told about Lingbi rocks, their chime, and a famous emperor.
The 18th century emperor Qianlong went on three tours of inspection of the south during his reign. On three of these trips he made a point of visiting Lingbi County in Anhui Province, to see its Lingbi rocks. It was Emperor Qianlong who gave them the name, First Rock under Heaven, to express his appreciation of them.
So, when were the chime rocks first discovered?
